13th June 2012 11:02
European Athletics has awarded the 2013 European Athletics Team Championships First League to the Irish capital city of Dublin.
The European Athletics Executive Committee made the decision during its meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Tuesday. The First League will be held simultaneously with the European Athletics Team Championships Super League, Second and Third League on 22-23 June 2013.
Gateshead will host European Athletics' flagship team event, while the host cities for the Second and Third League are yet to be announced.
The last time Ireland hosted a European team event was in 1997, when the competition was known as the European Cup.
Hosts Ireland will be up against teams from Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Sweden and Switzerland during the two-day event, where the top three finishing teams will earn a promotion to the following years' Super League.
The European Team Championships has gone from strength to strength since it began in 2009, introducing a number of ground breaking initiatives including a revamp of traditional track and field regulations, men and women competing as one team, promotion and relegation battles among the four leagues, and a European 'league table.'